# What's your fave FTP program? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 4, 2008, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-fave-ftp-program/436293 "2008-02-04T23:55:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2008, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-fave-ftp-program/436293/1 "2008-02-04T23:55:56Z")
I am about to make a major change in my ISP and I want to take the opportunity to change some obsolete utilities I have been using. One is FTP software to transfer files from my computer to a web site. PC-based, must work with XP and Win 98 as a minimum. What is your favorite FTP program? Free is best. Hassle-free is good. What are the pluses and minuses of your choice? ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-fave-ftp-program/436293/2 "2008-02-05T00:49:05Z")
Well, I use… WS-FTP. Works fine on XP for me. Don’t see any reason to change it. ---
**Author:** ![Hodge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Hodge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hodge)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-fave-ftp-program/436293/3 "2008-02-05T00:58:45Z")
[WinSCP](http://winscp.net/eng/index.php) A free and open-source FTP and SFTP client. Fully featured FTP client but with a few bells and whistles, including the ability to transfer files over a secure, encrypted SSH connection. Maybe that’s not necessary for your use but it’s a good option to have. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-fave-ftp-program/436293/4 "2008-02-05T01:01:59Z")
Filezilla is one of the best, but I find it a bit over-featured. So whenever I can get away with it, I use an ancient program called FTP Wanderer (which refers to itself as FTP Explorer in some places - I think there might have been a naming clash with a different product). Trouble is, it doesn’t work with all possible types of connection - with some servers, it appears to connect, but shows an empty server directory - so I use FileZilla instead in those cases. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-fave-ftp-program/436293/5 "2008-02-05T03:07:11Z")
I use Filezilla, but I find SendTo FTP real handy for simple uploads. It sets an item in your right-click menu that sends the highlighted file to your website via FTP. Real useful if you just have a single updated file to upload. See [http://www.onlythebestfreeware.com/program.asp?program\_id=81](http://www.onlythebestfreeware.com/program.asp?program_id=81) ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-fave-ftp-program/436293/6 "2008-02-05T03:14:14Z")
I’m still using the same copy of [FTP Explorer](http://www.ftpx.com/) I got on a CD back in the mid-90s. The book was one of those “How to use the Internet” types of manuals and came with a CD consisting of an ancient version of Netscape, an WYSIWYG HTML editor, a Usenet client, an e-mail client and FTPx. It still meets all of my (rather rare) FTPing needs. ---
**Author:** ![Dragwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dragwyr/32/2855_2.png) [@Dragwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragwyr)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-fave-ftp-program/436293/7 "2008-02-05T03:55:42Z")
I suggest you check [Gizmo Richards’ 46 Best Freeware Utilities List](http://www.techsupportalert.com/best_46_free_utilities.htm#28). It has some great choices for free FTP clients. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-fave-ftp-program/436293/8 "2008-02-05T04:09:58Z")
I use [CoreFTP](http://coreftp.com) because the last time I reinstalled and couldn’t find a crack for CuteFTP or WS\_FTP (they were all pay at the time), I looked up “free ftp,” landed on Core’s site and have never looked back. I’d say I’ve been using it maybe 3 or 4 years. I don’t know if it’s the best or the worst, but my business relies heavily on FTP (I design Web sites) - although not nearly as much as it used to - and I FTP large and small files quite regularly and it works just fine for me. ---
**Author:** ![Dervorin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Dervorin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dervorin)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-fave-ftp-program/436293/9 "2008-02-05T11:25:37Z")
[QUOTE=ZipperJJ] I use [CoreFTP](http://coreftp.com) because the last time I reinstalled and couldn’t find a crack for CuteFTP or WS\_FTP (they were all pay at the time), I looked up “free ftp,” landed on Core’s site and have never looked back. I’d say I’ve been using it maybe 3 or 4 years. I don’t know if it’s the best or the worst, but my business relies heavily on FTP (I design Web sites) - although not nearly as much as it used to - and I FTP large and small files quite regularly and it works just fine for me. [/QUOTE] Seconded. Use CoreFTP quite a bit to transfer small and mid-sized files to my server, and it works a treat. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-fave-ftp-program/436293/10 "2008-02-05T11:34:48Z")
Surprised really that we haven’t had any console lovers saying “what do you mean, _‘which FTP program?’_ - I just use _ **FTP** _”… ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-fave-ftp-program/436293/11 "2008-02-05T13:41:08Z")
[QUOTE=Mach Tuck] Well, I use… WS-FTP. Works fine on XP for me. Don’t see any reason to change it. [/QUOTE] That’s the one I had planned to replace. Perhaps it’s the version I use – the version isn’t given, it’s so old – but it no longer works properly. Besides only understanding 8-character names, it will transfer only 11 files at a time before erroring out. This same error happens in Win98 or XP systems and with different IPs sourced at different places, so I thought it might be time to change. Does your version overcome this? ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-fave-ftp-program/436293/12 "2008-02-05T15:57:53Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] Surprised really that we haven’t had any console lovers saying “what do you mean, _‘which FTP program?’_ - I just use _ **FTP** _”… [/QUOTE] We console lovers have long since graduated to sftp. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-fave-ftp-program/436293/13 "2008-02-05T16:01:07Z")
I used to use WS\_FTP but it sticks stupid logfiles all over the place. I then used CuteFTP but it wasn’t great at queueing, then I tried FireFTP but it was buggy. Finally settled on Filezilla and love it. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-fave-ftp-program/436293/14 "2008-02-05T16:07:29Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] Surprised really that we haven’t had any console lovers saying “what do you mean, _‘which FTP program?’_ - I just use _ **FTP** _”… [/QUOTE] Actually, that’s not a bad idea. I’m unfamiliar with Unix or FTP commands, but I can learn and the DOS command line is 2nd nature to me. Can you recommend a site for a good command list, tutorial and hints? ---
**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-fave-ftp-program/436293/15 "2008-02-05T16:40:10Z")
I’ve been using [FTP Commander](http://www.internet-soft.com/ftpcomm.htm) for many years. Basic, no frills, easy to use, and free. They’ve been around since the early days, but they keep improving their product. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-fave-ftp-program/436293/16 "2008-02-05T23:32:19Z")
[QUOTE=Musicat] Actually, that’s not a bad idea. I’m unfamiliar with Unix or FTP commands, but I can learn and the DOS command line is 2nd nature to me. Can you recommend a site for a good command list, tutorial and hints? [/QUOTE] Sorry, not from me - I don’t think I’ve ever used it from the command line. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2008, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-fave-ftp-program/436293/17 "2008-02-06T09:16:21Z")
Another vote for WinSCP. You can even get it as a [Portable App](http://www.portableapps.com) for carrying round on a USB stick. SFTP is safer than FTP, and WinSCP works a real treat. In Windows. Personally, I use Dolphin, the KDE (Linux/Unix) file manager - I just open a remote connection in the file manager I use for local files. Seamless. I am hoping that it will be ported to windows eventually. Si ---
**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2008, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-fave-ftp-program/436293/18 "2008-02-07T13:42:16Z")
[QUOTE=Musicat] Actually, that’s not a bad idea. I’m unfamiliar with Unix or FTP commands, but I can learn and the DOS command line is 2nd nature to me. Can you recommend a site for a good command list, tutorial and hints? [/QUOTE] [Here’s](http://www.robvanderwoude.com/ftp.html) a good guide. If you’re in an environment where you can’t use any third-party software then the command-line FTP can work out pretty well. If you don’t need to automate transfers then you can use Internet Explorer as well. Just go to Internet Options|Advanced and check the **Enable folder view for FTP sites** box. It’s no-frills but it works. For Firefox there’s [FireFTP](http://fireftp.mozdev.org/). For more advanced tasks I’d also go with WinSCP. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2008, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-fave-ftp-program/436293/19 "2008-02-07T14:14:05Z")
I always thought lynx did a reasonably good job. I commonly use ftp as well, though, or wget if I only need one file or want to batch-download a whole directory structure. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2008, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-fave-ftp-program/436293/20 "2008-02-08T03:01:24Z")
I love [FireFTP](http://fireftp.mozdev.org/). It’s a Firefox extension. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-fave-ftp-program/436293.md?page=2)